| August 08, 2008 | Friday | Sha’aban 5, 1429 |
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Fata’s growing disconnect
Pakistan-India peace process
Resolving visa issue
Strike before it’s hot
Animals’ cause
US and ISI
Employment with Indian ships
A peek at Pakistan’s genesis
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
THIS is apropos of Kausar S. Khan’s letter, Tawana Pakistan Project’ (July 31). I would like to reveal more facts about Tawana Pakistan Project that HANDS (an NGO) undertook in two districts of Sindh, i.e. Thatta and Badin.
With HANDS’ involvement in the project, the nutritional status of 37,000 students in government girls primary schools was raised. HANDS surveyed 414 schools in two districts.
Further, I am surprised to read the Senate committee’s comments on the above-mentioned project, reported earlier (July 20). I think two phases of the TPP have been mixed up by the committee.
There is a clear distinction between the two: the first three years of the project was run in principal with public-NGOs partnership and with a strong financial support.
The fund flow was through crossed cheques from the EDO (education) directly to the school committee comprising local women with facilitation of local and credible NGOs, with no leakage at the district level.
Another principle was community participation, especially of women. They were not only involved in financial and logistics management but were also responsible for developing a balanced diet menu, involved in cooking and feeding a balanced meal to their children.
Women empowerment was a fascinating feature to see as thousands of village women were mobilised to take the charge of the project. Another important principle was health, especially nutrition education which was also extraordinary.
I saw women of more than 70 years telling me about the ingredients and food groups of the balanced meal they prepared.
However, conspiracies that cropped against this approach led the ministry of social welfare to disown the people-centered project.
This theory of conspiracy gave birth to the so-called new Tawana Pakistan Project after a gap of one year.
This time, flavoured juice and cookies, instead of fresh meal, were offered as there was no public-NGO participation.
Commercial companies and their distributors took over the project and so commissions and bribes abound at all levels.
Considering it was a commercial sector-government partnership, community participation was totally missing with no women empowerment as well, what to talk of health education. Children and the community in general received wrong messages with nutritionists recommending artificial juice and biscuits.
I appeal to the people’s government to give the midday meal to the thousands of very poor children who are dropping out and dying because of poverty and malnutrition.
DR SHAIKH TANVEER AHMED
Executive Coordinator, HANDS
Karachi
THE article, “Fata’s growing disconnect” (July 31)by Afrasiab Khattak, an eminent intellectual and ANP leader, clearly brings out an urgent point for the federation of Pakistan: the federation must run a full military campaign against all the local and foreign militants in Fata.
It should clear the region of the Taliban for the benefit of the local population, because the Pakistani Taliban are as much a menace to society as the Afghan Taliban were to Afghanistan.
Coming from a nationalist political party which jealously guards interests of the Pakhtun nation, the call for a federal military action in order to extend the country’s Constitution to Fata must be taken seriously by the Pakistani military high command and the presidency.
The more the state hesitates, the more it is likely to lose ground against the Taliban hoards. Mr Khattak is absolutely right that the militants succeed in establishing their writ not because the local population agrees with their ideology.
They succeed because their vigilantism is not seriously challenged by the state.
The citizens of Pakistan hope that this campaign would be conducted in a most sensible manner so that little harm comes to the non-combatant population caught in the middle, and that it would not end until the writ of the state is re-established in the region through elected public representatives.
Whether or not this benefits Afghanistan or Nato across the border is besides the point. The biggest beneficiary would be the people of Pakistan.
A. H. NAYYAR
SDPI,
Islamabad
THE Saarc summit in Colombo was yet another manifestation of the disastrous consequences of the so-called ‘peace process’ between India and Pakistan. Pakistan almost pleaded to India not to unilaterally end the ongoing peace process between the two South Asian rivals.
The rationale presented by the policymakers in Pakistan in 2004 for extending the hand of friendship to India was establishment of peace in the region. The policymakers reminded the nation about the cost of the three wars which the nation had fought against the Indians and economic opportunities which they have missed.
Four years since, Rehman Malik, adviser on interior affairs, is accusing India of backing the separatist insurgency in Balochistan, and the trade volume between the Saarc nations remains at a low five per cent.
All this comes at the cost of Pakistan leaving its claim on occupied Kashmir, virtually accepting the LoC as an international border and initiating a series of confidence-building measures giving India concession after concession.
The insurgency in Balochistan and the resulting loss to Pakistan’s economy have meant that there has been no peace, neither economic gains for Pakistan as far as the peace process is concerned.
It is clear that the so-called peace process between Indian and Pakistan, initiated at the behest of America, was neither for peace nor for economic cooperation. It was aimed at gaining strategic strength for India.
Normalisation of Indo-Pakistan relations was the first requirement of the US for building India as a regional power to counter the growing influence of China. That Pakistan did not oppose the US-India nuclear deal, another step towards strengthening India in the region, in the IAEA board meeting despite its overt opposition to it shows that our foreign policy towards India is being imported from the US.
While the ‘with us or against us’ mantra was used as a justification for the Afghan policy, what justification is there for an allout sell-off to India?
MOEZ MOBEEN
Islamabad
FOR more than a month the visas issued by the South African high commission for Pakistanis is under suspension and no visas are issued to Pakistanis. On checking with the high commission, they are of the opinion that there is a delay due to some issues which are to be sorted out with Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs.
The visa issue for Pakistanis is getting difficult day by day and every now and then we hear that a few countries where we were once allowed visas on arrival have taken back this facility.
If the government is focused on earning foreign exchange revenues through increased exports, the least it can do is to sort out with foreign high commissions issuance of visas to Pakistani businessmen. I suggest officials of the ministry of foreign affairs should look into this issue and quickly resolve the matter.
ZIAUDDDIN SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THE Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has issued a new threat that it would mount suicide attacks if military operations in Swat is not stopped. Serious notice of such threats should be taken. The TTP is an organisation using innocent boys and girls in the name of Islam for carrying out suicide attacks.
It is baffling as to what kind of Islam is the TTP propagating. They have already held the people of Swat hostage to their threats and have destroyed countless schools.
The military operations should be carried out in its entirety and the TTP and its likes should be decimated.
Their interest is only to spread Islam by coercive measures. In reality, they are only concerned about their own gains and interests. The army should continue the operations and vanquish such elements once and for all.
JANDAD KHAN
Lahore
(ii)
WITH mounting threats from Taliban groups, I wonder what the government is waiting for. Are they waiting to see Karachi turn into Swat or Parachinar before they spring into action?
The government should take bold steps right now like sealing off madressahs and restricting Taliban leaders’ visits in order to divert young minds to anti-Islamic ways.
Everyone knows that the recent visit by Umme Hasam is the first step towards that. I fail to understand why first these issues are allowed to get out of control. Once things go totally out of hand, the poor minorities, foreigners, government and generally the masses suffer.
We have witnessed the Lal Masjid issue recently, before we saw how over the years the Taliban grew right in the heart of Islamabad. When things got out of hand, major actions were taken, only leading to a chain reaction.
Why don’t we just deal with them right then and there by not letting them penetrate our systems? Let us not let the cities become battlegrounds.
ZAHRA ALI SYED
Karachi
I WAS very happy to read Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column, ‘A bit of positivism in our night’ (Aug 3), and to learn that the Brooke and Richmond Crawford Hospitals are doing such good work with working equines.
There is a lot that can be done to improve the situation of animals in Pakistan, especially those used for entertainment. I speak about bear-baiting, for which Pakistan is famous.
The bear is declawed, defanged and held by a rope passed through a hole made in its nose.
Then it is attacked by a pack of hungry dogs, with no means of protection. The kindest thing would be to let the dogs kill it off.
However, when they see that the bear is at the end of its tether, the dogs are called off and the bear is allowed to live, to be baited and fight for its survival another day.
Dawn has the ability to campaign and stop this cruelty. It may be just one of many that animals suffer, but a beginning has to be made. I request Dawn to take this up as a campaign, which will surely improve Pakistan’s image in the world.
DR NANDITHA KRISHNA
India
THIS is with reference to a report published in your newspaper that the ISI has ties with militants. The allegations have always been levelled against Pakistan by the US to conceal their own failures and weaknesses.
The US and its allies have miserably failed in Afghanistan. With 50,000 troops from 36 countries, all having their goals and objectives, the US is meddling in Afghanistan’s affairs. Almost 93 per cent of the world poppy crop is being produced under their nose and money is spent to destabilise Pakistan.
The allegation against the ISI that it is helping militants sounds silly. It is time Pakistan protested against irresponsible statements.
BILAL SHAHID
Rawalpindi
THE Indian merchant fleet has greatly expanded during the last few years. The growth has been so fast that training facilities have not kept pace with the requirement.
The Indian government has yielded to their shipowners’ demand and has now allowed employment of foreign crews on board.
However, the approval is limited to nationals of 12 countries only, mainly those located in Eastern Europe, which are popular source of ship officers and crews due to good training and relatively cheaper cost.
Now, Pakistan is a country with surplus manpower in all categories of ship crews who are well qualified.
Pakistanis are serving a large numbers of foreign ships and an underdeveloped national fleet. Our people are, therefore, constantly going out to serve on foreign ships.
Exclusion of Pakistan from the Indian list means an opportunity denied.
The government of Pakistan should take the issue with India to open the employment to Pakistani crews also and to facilitate seamen in joining and leaving ships in India.
IRFAN NAQVI
Karachi
WHY was India divided into two independent countries? This question curiously pops up into the minds of our younger generation.
Let us take up first two-nation theory: the ‘Swadeshi’ movement, which previously had been confined almost wholly to the field of religion, became essentially a movement of Hindu Revivalism and gained momentum as such towards the end of the 19th century.
They were swept by the emotional fervour and believed in the second advent of Hindu rule. “We were great once and should be even greater in future”.
Thus the new Indian culture of the 19th century built a perimeter of its own and put specifically Muslim influences and aspirations beyond the pale.
In relation to it, the Muslims stood outside as an external proletariat, and if the Muslims wanted to come into its fold, they could come in only after giving up all their Islamic values and traditions.
In one of its aspects, it was a further perfection of the historical enmity. Nationalism cannot flourish in the abstract. Indian nationalism had to be correlated to the political history of India. In bringing about this necessary correlation the Hindu nationalists were highly selective.
*The other more dangerous form of the aggravation of Hindu-Muslim antagonism by the Swadeshi movement was that this hostility was now brought down from the historical to the contemporary plane, and converted from a retrospective hatred to a current-hatred.
For this the Muslims were as much responsible as were the Hindus, though they could hardly have acted otherwise than they did under the circumstances.
The first step of the renaissance was a progressive de-Islamisation of the Hindus of India and a corresponding revival of Hindu tradition taking back to its ancient Sanskrit foundations. The only non-Hindu influences allowed to assimilate were European.
The Muslim leaders felt that tied to the juggernaut of Hindu majority, they would be crushed out of all semblance of their group identity. The two-nation theory was formulated long before Mr Jinnah or the Muslim League: in truth, it was not a theory at all. It was a fact of history. The fear of Muslims of India, therefore, was not unfounded.
They felt that Hindus would do to them what happened to them in Spain. The Swadeshi movement was poised to follow the same pattern.
It was a formidable mission to claim a separate state for the Muslims of India. British rule in itself was a factor which discouraged the cultivation of Islamic culture and sympathised with Hindus. But with the iron will and brilliant leadership of Mr Jinnah, Muslims finally won themselves a homeland of their own called Pakistan.
As I see it, the Pakistan Movement was not a religious movement but more of a socio-political one for a cultural preservation of the Muslims of India. Most Islamic religious parties, such as Jamaat-i-Islami, were not part of the movement.
Having said that, it is evident that the constitution of such state (Pakistan) would be based on the Islamic values and social laws. The Pakistan as visioned by its creators and leaders was a progressive, democratic and modern republic with Islamic cultural values. It was never meant to be a theological state.
We must understand that Islam is a timeless ideology and should not be locked back in a particular time capsule, a period so far back. The world has come so far ahead. It is progressive and must be let to flourish in the present and future times.
The emphasis should be more on Islam’s basic teachings along with modern education. More important values of Islam should establish a system that provides justice. What has happened to Pakistan is wrong and defies the vision that Allama Iqbal and the Quaid and millions of Muslims, who scarified so much for its creation, saw and expected.
MIRZA I. AHMED
United States
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